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 House Bill 3717, amended late Tuesday, laid out numbers for the
Department of Human Services, Department of Aging, Department of
Children and Family Services, and Department of Human Rights.
State Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-DuPage, said the total came just
under the $12 billion that the human services budget committee in
the House was tasked with divvying.
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, committee chairwoman,
could not be reached for comment.
House budget leaders have taken a greater role in determining the
state budget this year, detailing each line of state spending. In
the past, the Legislature would pass lump-sum appropriations for the
governor to delegate.
Although the numbers are out, state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan,
R-Park Ridge, said the process is still in motion. She said to take
any proposals with a grain of salt.
"We're not done yet, so we don't have total agreement. Until we
bring the bill out in committee, I don't think anything is agreed
upon," Mulligan said.
Before the proposed budget measure heads to Gov. Pat Quinn, it
must first pass the House and be agreed on by the Senate.
Some advocates, however, remain worried that what may be written
down may end up being the final product.
Terry Sullivan, a coordinator with the Health Care Council of
Illinois, was at the Capitol on Tuesday, rallying supporters of
funding for nursing homes. He called Quinn's proposed $140 million
cut "devastating" to those working and living in nursing homes.
"I don't see how you (can) cut from the sickest and the frailest
(residents) of Illinois. It doesn't make sense. There isn't room to
cut when you're taking care of ventilator patients and people who
are very, very ill. You cut, and lives are in danger," Sullivan
said.
The council, which serves as the "joint legislative, regulatory,
communication and political arm of the Illinois Health Care
Association and the Illinois Council on Long Term Care," represents
the nursing home profession in the state, according to its website.
Because nursing homes are labor-intensive, cutting funds will
ultimately cut jobs, Sullivan said.
"It is going to impact 7,000 jobs throughout the state. ... We've
never had a cut like this before," Sullivan said.
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The House is working with a total budget of $33.2 billion, lower
than the governor's $35.4 billion projected budget. The Senate is
working with allocating $34.3 billion.
Adam Andrzejewski, who ran unsuccessfully in the Republican
gubernatorial primary, said lawmakers shouldn't be balancing the
state budget on the backs of those most in need, but a balanced
budget is necessary.
"We don't have a tax revenue problem. We have near record levels.
We have a spending problem," Andrzejewski said. "The spending side
of the budget needs to be honed. It needs to become efficient. We
can't tolerate the culture of corruption in Springfield any longer."
Balancing the budget, however, means slashing spending in areas
that require the most money, said Charlie Wheeler, a public affairs
reporting professor at the University of Springfield in Illinois.
"(Human services) does not spend as much as Medicaid, but human
services as a (whole) does indeed spend a lot of money," said
Wheeler. "If you want to save big bucks, you have to cut programs
that cost big bucks. That's sort of elementary."
Human services accounts for about 36 percent of the entire House
budget.
With a May 31 deadline to pass the budget, Mulligan said any
reductions will be painful, but lawmakers are working to minimize
harm for everyone affected.
"We haven't got the money, so we've got to do something about it.
We're trying to negotiate with each other in a way that would be the
best for the people of Illinois," Mulligan said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MELISSA LEU]
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